The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has arrested eight individuals, unravelling a massive fraud involving the illegal creation of Ayushman Bharat health cards by exploiting government portal vulnerabilities.
The scam came to light following the deaths of two patients at Khyati Multispeciality Hospital in Ahmedabad, prompting a detailed investigation.
A significant health card fraud has been unearthed by the Ahmedabad Crime Branch, implicating Khyati Multispeciality Hospital and several individuals in the illegal creation of Ayushman Bharat (PM-JAY) cards. The investigation began after the tragic deaths of two patients at the hospital on November 12, leading to the registration of three criminal cases at Vastrapur police station.
The case was transferred to the crime branch due to its severity. A dedicated team, working in collaboration with government-appointed doctors, conducted a detailed probe. The investigation revealed that the hospital had hosted a health camp on November 10 in Borisana (Kadi), where patient records were accessed and tampered with. Two computers containing critical data and original patient files were seized during the raid.
The probe uncovered that fraudulent Ayushman Bharat cards were being created. Chirag Rajput, an associate, collaborated with Nimesh Dodiya, who advertised card-making services through online portals. The fraudulent cards were sold for ₹1,500–₹2,000 each, with Nimesh earning ₹1,000 per card.
Nimesh used WhatsApp and Telegram groups to network with accomplices across Gujarat and other states. This included individuals like Mohammad Fazal (Ahmedabad), Mohammad Asfaque Sheikh (Vatva), Narendra Gohil (Bhavnagar), Imtiyaz (Bhavnagar), and Imran (Surat), who assisted in exploiting technical vulnerabilities in government portals. The group tampered with the source code of the Ayushman Bharat portal to create 1,200–1,500 fake health cards.
Enser Communication Pvt Ltd, holding the government contract for Ayushman Bharat card creation, was also implicated. Nikhil Parekh, an employee of the company, allegedly provided illegal login credentials to the accused, earning ₹8,000–₹10,000 per month. These credentials were misused for unauthorised E-KYC approvals, enabling the fraudulent card creation.
Key shreds of evidence which were recovered from the accused include two computers containing patient records and angiography data, 1,000 suspected Ayushman Bharat card-related IDs from Nimesh Dodiya’s laptop, videographic evidence of the fraudulent card-making process and Testimonies linking the accused to the crime.
So far, individuals arrested by Ahmedabad Crime Branch are Chirag Hirasinh Rajput (Ahmedabad), Nimesh Dilipbhai Dodiya (Ahmedabad), Mohammad Fazal Sheikh (Ahmedabad), Mohammad Asfaque Sheikh (Vatva, Ahmedabad), Narendra Gohil(Bhavnagar), Imtiyaz (Bhavnagar), Imran Jabir Husain Karigar (Surat) .
Charges include forgery, cheating, and tampering with government portal systems. Further investigations are ongoing to identify additional suspects.